b'BACK TO NAVIGATIONAusLSAs Executive members 2023AusLSA is indebted to the commitment and support of its sixin 2010 AusLSAs Executive Members have been instrumental in Executive Members and Ernst & Young. Since its establishmentproviding leadership, strategic, logistical and financial support: AusLSA is also assisted by Ernst & Young who provideframework. In many of these areas, firms were confident that their administrative and office support.In addition, AusLSA greatlyprograms were well-informed, resourced and managed and that benefits from the specialist expertise Ernst & Young providesplanned progress was being achieved.through its board appointment.Our members told us that actions to address climate change and their broader environmental management were growing focusFocus and Directionareas. Members were making plans to increase commitments and undertake additional actions. They would need additional support The early stages of the Covid 19 pandemic prompted concernsand collaboration to achieve progress on their climate and that the scale of disruption could distract firms from theirenvironmental objectives.commitment and focus on their sustainability values andClimate Action and Modern Slavery CoLabsobjectives. However, we saw that the investment in formalised structures and plans kept firms on track. We also saw how earlyIn 2023 AusLSA formed its Climate Action CoLab and Modern sustainability progress provided a foundation for firms to buildSlavery CoLabs. The two CoLabs share a similar format and set of greater resilience and adaptability.objectivesAs law firms emerge from the direct restrictions of the Covid 191.Community of Practice - providing a collaborative pandemic AusLSA will continue to evolve its sustainabilityenvironment for leading law firms to build relationships and framework and to broaden the support available to members soshare experiences with other practitioners.that Australian law firms can remain as a global example of2.Expertise - providing information, advice and potential leading sustainability practicesolutions to address a series of key issues that law firms need to understand and address to improve the impact of their programsPriorities for 20243.Ongoing opportunities - articulating a set of shared issues and actions that law firms should continue to collaborate on In 2022 the AusLSA board completed a review and reset of its fivewith options about how this could be sustainably delivered.year strategic plan. In preparation for the new plan we spoke toAusLSA will continue to promote the benefits of its online AusLSA members and AusLSA partners about the sustainabilityEnvironmental Management System tool (provided to AusLSA challenges at a law firm level and at a national and global level. Wemembers as part of their annual membership). Packages of learned that interest and expectations in sustainability wasadditional support will be made available to firms for increasing among all their stakeholders including the executiveimplementation support including three days of facilitation. team, employees, and clients. Our members valued the tools and resources provided by AusLSA and were committed to the annualIn 2024 AusLSA will also be developing a new website focused of collection and public reporting of their sustainability data. providing a repository of high-quality tools, resources and We learned that law firms had strengthened their internal capacityinformation that will assist the efficiency and effectiveness of law and connections with program providers across many of thefirms sustainability programs. sustainability issues included in the AusLSA sustainability 5'